3 Inexpensive Design Tips to Love Your Dining Room
What size table should I use? What’s the correct height to hang chandeliers? Why add curtains?
#1 - Design with Function in Mind
For this design, the client had three very specific requirements:
- Arrange a new dining table for 12
- Lighten up the back wall, keeping a unit for dinnerware storage
- French Country style, to match with the adjacent living room
Let me show you the before picture. You’ll find it the fanciest before you have ever seen, but their dining room wasn’t working for them: after a home renovation and kids getting older and bringing their friends, one needs to fit everyone at the table!
#2 - Furniture Scale
How to know the right size of your table? Will a table for 12 fit into this space? The table size depends not only on how many people you need to seat but mostly on the dimensions of your dining room.
When wondering about your table size, consider 24 inches for each chair, plus 6 inches on each side. Always leave 3 ft around the table for circulation.
The last step, measure your space to be sure it will fit.
#3 - Balance the Room
Now that we covered the function, we can go for the interesting part!
You could get the most trendy furniture and decor, yet if you don’t follow this interior design hint, your dining room won’t achieve the ‘designer feel’.
In order to balance a room, you need to find the axis first. Feel free to check out this article on “How To Give a Room a Designer Feel” that explains step-by-step how to do it.
Particularly for this dining room, the middle of the back wall will be taken as the center of the room since the door is usually open and that space serves as a corridor.
First, place the table at the center of the room, with the chairs around. Second, add a chandelier above the table (following the measurements described below). Then, add a centerpiece aligned with the chandelier.
This setting carries your eye from the floor to the ceiling.
From the table, through the centerpiece and the chandelier, your eye needs to continue to be carried to the center of the wall in the back, from the mirror to the server unit.
This same flow needs to be achieved on the walls on each side. The curtains help the eye to be carried from the ceiling to the floor again, on both sides.
Treat yourself!
Did you like this design? Here you can find most of the links to get it.
Also, I’m adding at the end another design option: a more bohemian look, in a natural-colored scheme.
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.
French Country Style Design
Rustic warm gray trestle table with natural upholstered chairs for contrast.
Note: this linked dining table is 94 inches long vs the 108 inches one that was used for this design.
Bohemian Natural Style Design
Rustic distressed gray trestle table with wood chairs and rattan chandeliers for contrast.
The following products were used for both designs:
Hoping these ideas inspire you for your next project!
If I were to enhance my dining area, I will invest in new furniture in it. I also agree with you that it will be wiser to hire a designer. Thank you for sharing the importance of creating balance through texture and pattern.